Klarinet Archive - Posting 000937.txt from 2002/06

From: HatNYC62@-----.com
Subj: RE: [kl] finger dexterity
Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2002 08:30:11 -0400

>>>A question for whoever said that you 'age-out' of the ability to add

technical speed to your playing...How long do you have as a player to

build up speed? HS, college, under 30?<<<

I wasn't even going to respond to this, except for the terminology. As I have
been trying to point out, "speed" is different from technique.

I think it's best to seperate technique from what I call velocity.

There are a lot of clarinet players out there who are what I call "c major
virtuosos." They can whip around the easy keys on the klarinet as fast as
anything. However, you put e major or b major in front of them and you might
as well hand them a cello.

These players have lots of velocity, but no technique.

There are also players who have amazing velocity but also are completely
facile in any key. Certain names come to mind right away. . .Eddie Daniels,
Buddy DeFranco, Ricardo Morales, Alessandro Carbonare. I am pretty confident
all of these players have done their share of scale practice. DeFranco even
published a scale book. If you've ever heard Ricardo Morales close up
whipping around an e major sequence (assuming you know how hard it truly is
to be virtuosic in that key) you remember it well.

Those clarinet players born with natural velocity have to be careful not to
use it as an excuse to neglect learning comprehensive technique. Those who
don't have natural velocity may or may not ever develop it, but they can
become ultra solid at whatever they ultimately do, should they work hard
enough.

One can also seperate repertoire that requires technique from repertoire that
merely requires velocity.

As for 'ageing out,' I didn't mean to imply that you would ever stop
improving. My point was that if you want to be good enough at your instrument
to compete with those who are going to win jobs, the earlier you start the
better.

David Hattner, NYC
www.northbranchrecords.com

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